President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
By Olamilekan Tosin
President Bola Tinubu took to the nation on Wednesday to declare a nationwide security emergency, saying the country can’t afford to wait any longer as armed violence keeps spiking across several states. He painted the move as a “national emergency” and pledged to flood the streets with more boots on the ground, especially in the hot‑spot regions that have seen the worst of the recent turmoil .
To back that promise, Tinubu announced that the police will bring in an extra 20,000 officers, pushing the total intake for the year up to 50,000 recruits. He also gave the green light to use National Youth Service Corps camps as temporary training hubs, a quick‑fix to get fresh faces ready for duty faster than usual .
At the same time, officers who have been guarding VIPs are being pulled back and sent for a crash‑course retraining before being redeployed to frontline areas. The Department of State Services has been ordered to deploy its trained forest guards and even recruit more men to chase bandits and insurgents hiding in the bush, with the blunt warning that “there will be no more hiding places for agents of evil.
The emergency declaration comes on the heels of a string of brutal attacks in Kebbi, Borno, Zamfara, Niger, Yobe and Kwara states, where dozens were killed and many more kidnapped. Tinubu praised the recent rescues of 24 schoolgirls in Kebbi and 38 worshippers in Kwara, and vowed to keep pushing until the remaining hostages—including students still missing from Niger State—are freed .
He also urged lawmakers to tweak the constitution so states can set up their own police forces, and asked herder groups to swap open grazing for ranching and hand over illegal weapons. Religious leaders were told to seek security protection for gatherings, while the president called on all Nigerians to stay vigilant and report any suspicious activity .
In his closing remarks, Tinubu appealed to the nation’s sense of unity, insisting that the fight against insecurity is a collective responsibility. He thanked the armed forces and security agencies for their courage, asked for patience as the new measures take effect, and reminded everyone that together, “we shall win” .
